Itinerary

Day 1, Monday

Journey to the Holy Land

We gather at London Heathrow Airport for an afternoon flight to Tel Aviv. Dinner will be served in-flight and a movie screened. On arrival at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport we will be met by our guide and driven north along the Mediterranean to Tiberias and our hotel by the Sea of Galilee.

Day 2, Tuesday

Nazareth & Cana

After breakfast we begin our pilgrimage by driving up to Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up. Here we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, built over the traditional site of the home of the Holy Family. After Mass in the Basilica we continue to the Greek Orthodox Church, built over Mary’s Well and the old Synagogue-Church. We then continue to the nearby village of Cana the site connected with Jesus’ first miracle - The changing of water into wine. After a break for lunch we return to our lakeside hotel to spend the afternoon relaxing by the Sea of Galilee. Dinner at our hotel by the lake.

Day 3, Wednesday

Lakeside Ministry & Caesarea Philippi

This morning we drive to Tabgha to visit the Church of the Loaves and Fishes then on to the Peters Primacy Church where we will celebrate Mass on the shores of the lake. We then drive along the shores of the lake to the ancient fishing village of Capernaum. Here we view the excavations of the old synagogue, foundations date back to the time of Jesus and the House of Peter. We then leave Capernaum by boat and sail across the Sea of Galilee to Tiberias and Kibbutz Ein Gev on the Eastern shores of the lake where we will break for lunch (restaurant is famous for its St Peters Fish lunch). In the afternoon we drive up into the Golan Heights to visit Banias (Greek Panias) and Caesarea Philippi in the foothills of Mount Hermon. A spring fed by the melting snow of Mount Hermon forms a source of the River Jordan. It was near here, that Jesus walked with his disciples and Peter made his great profession of faith in Him. We return to the lake after visiting Nimrud Castle and nearby Druze villages. Dinner and overnight by Galilee.

Day 4, Thursday

Mt Beatitudes, Safed & Acre

We begin our day with Mass on the summit of the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the lake and the places where Jesus lived and worked. We will spend some time here for meditation in this beautiful setting. Late morning we drive up to the town of Safed, the birthplace of Kabala and once a great intellectual centre of the Jewish revival. It is still today, a centre for Jewish studies of the scriptures, mysticism and symbolism, based upon the Mishnah and Talmud. In addition it is a beautiful artists colony with lovely galleries, craft workshops and ancient synagogues. Leaving Safed we drive down to the Mediterranean coast to visit the ancient Crusader city port of Acre, before returning to our hotel . Dinner and overnight stay by Galilee.

Day 5, Friday

Mount Tabor, Caesarea & Mount Carmel

Leaving our hotel after an early breakfast we drive to the village of Nain, then on to Mount Tabor, where we continue by taxi to the summit for Mass in the basilica built on the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James and John. From the roof top one can look across the Valley of Jezreel and the plains of Armageddon. On descending Mount Tabor we drive down to the Mediterranean and south along the coastline to the Roman and Crusader city-port of Caesarea Maritima, where we break for lunch. In the afternoon we visit the ancient harbour, it’s fortifications, twin water aqueducts and reassembled theatre. Paul was imprisoned here for almost two years before his trial in Rome. For Christians it is a place of great significance, as it was here that Peter baptised the first Gentile, Cornelius the Roman Centurion. From the coast we drive up in to the Carmel Range of mountain and time permitting we will visit Mukraka, the traditional site where Elijah was challenged by the prophets of Baal. Finally we return to Galilee and our lakeside hotel. Dinner and overnight by Galilee.

Day 6, Saturday

Beit Sean, Jericho, Bethany & Jerusalem

Today we leave the rolling hills of the Galilee and head south to the Holy city of Jerusalem. We set off after breakfast and drive south to the recently excavated Decapolis city of Beit Shean, biblical Scythopolis, It was on the walls of this city that the Philistines hung the bodies of Saul and his son Jonathan after their defeat. We then proceed along the he Jordan Valley to the ancient oasis city Jericho, the city of palms and break for lunch and a spot of shopping. In the afternoon we will stop for a view of the Mount of Temptation before driving up through the hills of the Judean Wilderness towards the summit of the Mount of Olives and the town of Bethany, home of Jesus’ friends Martha and Mary and Lazarus. We will celebrate Mass here, before we witness first hand the massive nine-metre high “separation wall” that divides families and the Palestinian people form nearby Jerusalem. We drive around the wall to eventually arrive in Jerusalem. We will proceed o the summit of Mount Scopus for a breathtaking view of the city and its beautiful medieval walls before proceeding down to our hotel.

Day 7, Sunday

Bethlehem, Yad Vashem & Model

After breakfast we leave Jerusalem and drive through the separation wall to nearby Bethlehem. We begin our day with Mass at the Shepherds Fields, before proceeding to the Church of the Nativity, the oldest in Christendom and built over the cave. We will also visit the Milk Grotto before breaking for lunch. After some time for Souvenir shopping we will return through the wall and proceed to West Jerusalem to visit Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and park and the model of ancient Jerusalem (AD70) Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 8, Monday

Mount of Olives & Mount Zion

Today we drive to the top of the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem, before visiting Beth Phage. We then walk down the Palm Sunday path to the Garden of Gethsemane and on route we visit the Church of the Pater Noster which attests to the existence of a cave on the Mount of Olives associated with Jesus’ teaching and the Ascension to the Church of Dominus Flevit, commemorating the site where Jesus wept over the destruction of the city. Visit Gethsemane, where Jesus was betrayed by Judas. The Church of All Nations is located on the traditional site where Jesus prayed and built over the agony rock. We the cross the Kidron Valley and drive up Mount Zion to visit St Peter in Gallicantu, the house of Caiaphas, the pool of Siloam and the Cenacle, Franciscan Room of the Last Supper, and where we will celebrate Mass. Evening Holy Hour at Gethsemane. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 9, Tuesday

The Old City & David's Citadel

After breakfast we enter the Old Walled city to visit the Temple Mount (if permitted) to view the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. We then visit the Crusader church of St Anne’s by the pools of Bethesda, before beginning the Way of Cross along the Via Dolorosa including the Ecce Homo Arch, the Lithostratus “the pavement. View from the roof of the Antonia Fortress the Temple Areas. Proceed through the Souks and over the roof of the Holy Sepulchre and through the Ethiopian Monastery to the Holy Sepulchre. Visit the Basilica built over the tomb on Calvary. We will celebrate Mass (Resurrection) in the Franciscan Chapel. After a break for lunch we will drive to the village of Ein Karem, to visit the church of the Visitation and home of John the Baptist. Return to our hotel. Dinner ad overnight stay in Jerusalem

Day 10, Wednesday

Qumran, Masada, The Dead Sea

Today we leave Jerusalem after breakfast for a full day tour of the Dead Sea basin. We begin with Mass in Notre Dame, before driving down to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the Earth’s surface. We start be visiting Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in a nearby cave by a Bedouin Shepherd. We will also visit the excavations of the Essene monastery where the scrolls may have originated, before continuing south along the shoreline to Masada and ascend the summit by cable car to visit Herod’s Palace. It was here that Jewish Partisans committed mass suicide during the Jewish revolt. From Masada we will continue Ein Gedi and break for lunch and the opportunity to bathe in the unique mineral laden waters of the Dead Sea. We then return north and back up to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 11, Thursday

Our journey home

We leave our hotel after a leisurely breakfast, and drive to Emmaus Abu Gosh where we bring our pilgrimage to a close with our final Mass. We then continue to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport for our afternoon return flight to London. We plan to arrive back at Heathrow in the evening.